The Seahawks.NET Q&A with Capt Keith ColburnYou may know Keith Colburn as the Captain of the crabbing boat "Wizard" on the Emmy winning Discovery Channel show "Deadliest Catch", but you may not know that Keith is a Washington native, and a huge Seahawks fan. Keith was sent some questions asked directly from the fans at Seahawks.NET, Facebook and Twitter and he was kind enough to answer some of those questions just before flying out to Dutch Harbor, Alaska to begin the Opilio crab season

Jeff O, Vernal UT - You obviously have a close relationship with your family, so do you see your kids following in your footsteps on the Bering Sea, and more importantly, are they Seahawks fans like you?

Capt Keith - I have a 15 year old son who is a huge sports fan. He loves the Beast {Marshawn Lynch}, and follows the local teams. But as might be the case with lots of teens these days he seems to like individual players from all around the league. I think the quick turnover of players, and free agency has had an effect. Which is totally different from my generation. You don’t see to many Edgar Martinez types anymore that stay and become part of the fabric of a community, and ride through the highs, and lows of a franchise. As for following in my footsteps. Only if he can’t keep his grades up!

Greg via Twitter - Which will happen first: A Seahawk Championship or you quit chewing tobacco for good?

Capt Keith - This is a tough question because I really feel a huge disappointment that I have not quit. Not taking advantage of being a role model, and setting a good example for others has been constantly nagging at me. Not to mention the real threat to my health. The upside is that I have had a lot of support from my family, and others that saw the episodes on TV and have quit. Right now I’m trying to tackle another problem. My weight. After exploding my ACL a year ago, and then working through the crab season I didn’t take care of myself. I’m happy to say the surgically repaired ACL is coming back, and I recently lost 30 lbs. It should be pretty obvious when people watch the show next season from King Crab to Opies. Not to mention it throws a curveball to my favorite folks (the editors of Deadliest Catch) this season. “Snicker”

Fan via Facebook - Is being a Seahawks or Mariners fan one of the requirements to work on your boat? If no, why the hell not?

Capt Keith - It doesn’t matter which team a crewman follows. If he’s passionate about his team that’s awesome. I’m most concerned that he can be a team player on the Wizard team and that means being a fan of hard work.

Nancy via email - How do you stay connected to the team and season during your time at sea?

Capt Keith - We do have satellite communications today and we’re able to access the internet, but it’s really expensive. The days of trying to tune into KNBR in SF at 04:00 to get the scores on the Single Sideband radio are a thing of the past. It gives us a better opportunity to stay connected, but we still give up most of the NFL, NHL, and NBA seasons.

JSeahawk, Oregon - How is being a boat captain similar to being an NFL head coach?

Capt Keith - It’s similar in a lot of ways. In the NFL every week counts, and you can’t take a day off or lose your concentration. You’re managing a diverse group of guys, and trying to get the most out of them to succeed. You need to learn from your mistakes, and not spend too much time celebrating your successes. You have to adapt your strategy to fit the game or situation, and be able to make snap decisions. In order to win you have to have quality personnel, and get the most out of your crew. You need to know how to take over, and lead, but also allow the crew to take on responsibility. You need to have perseverance, dedication, and respect for your opponent (Mother Nature). Most of all you need to have thick skin, guts, and a hardnosed attitude or you’ll get ripped to shreds!

JSeahawk, Oregon - Which Seahawk would make the best greenhorn on your boat?

Capt Keith - I have hung out with a number of current Seahawks, and don’t want to slight anyone so I better punt. Besides some of these guys can bench press a crab pot, and If I’ve learned anything from crabbing it’s don’t piss off a guy that can break you like a twig.

Pstark3 - What's your take on the QB situation for the Hawks? What would you do/want done?

Capt Keith - Early in the season one of the ESPN pundits said “The Seahawks are the worst team in the NFL” Someone should make that guy eat a jock strap. I think the team has come together over the last 2 seasons, and is finally starting to find an identity. Tarvaris played well in the second half of the season, and think it’s his job to lose, but he needs to learn how to win close games. There are some blue chip QB’s in this year’s draft, and if the opportunity was there I would trade up to get one. I also believe if they did that they should groom him for a year or two before throwing him to the wolves. Anyone want to make a long term wager? I’ll take Jake Lockers stats in ten years over Tim Tebows.

Uffda, Ballard WA - Which is your favorite Smokeshop bartender ?

Capt Keith - I’m going to punt again. Those gals are tough as nails, and I’m not going to pick a favorite. Darlene has been serving drinks me for over 25 years, and it’s great that a good old neighborhood fishermen’s bar has survived all these years. Ballard Ave. has changed a lot and as soon as all the new faces realize that you get 3 drinks for the price of 1 compared to most of the Ave’s new places I might find it hard to find a bar stool. Raise your glass to the Smoke Shop “Stay Gritty!”.

Msfann - So, how about those Mariners? What do you think about the possibility of another Sonics team back in Seattle and maybe even NHL along with it.

Capt Keith - I like the direction the M’s are taking. I had season tickets for 11 years, and have been fortunate to have seen some amazing baseball in 26 years. Hopefully they can find a way to pick up that big power left handed bat that Pinella always wanted.

Capt Keith - Unfortunately The 12th man flag to my knowledge is Seahawks property. Showing Major sports logos are a big no no. If you saw an orange blur on my head during a delivery story last year during king crab it was a SF Giants hat, and the night they won the World Series. Usually they toss the footage, or blur it out because it costs to much, or they can’t get permission to use it. P.S. Boooo all you want but growing up with Mc Covey, and Mays, and watching over 50 years of futility come to an end was awesome.

Agcat, Reardan WA - Keith, we have all seen you tap on your Ichiro bobble head for luck, if I send you a Seahawk bobble head would you put him in the wheelhouse too?

Capt Keith - Send one up! No guarantees where I’ll put it. The Ichiro bobble head has been on the boat longer than the cameras. I got to Safeco at 06:00-07:00 to get it, and was still behind over 4000 people. It’s the first series they ever made with the M’s. He’s been banged up pretty good in his career on the Wizard. He’s got Velcro, and zip ties to hold him in place now to avoid him getting launched in bad weather. You’ll also notice they have his jersey and cap covered up now too.

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Mark, Anchorage AK via Twitter - Which would you rather do? Get tackled full speed by Kam Chancellor or beat Bering Sea ice off the Wizard?

Capt Keith - Neither option sounds very appealing. I think I would take the hit. Then I could scratch it off the bucket list of crazy things to do in life. I've been taken out by waves, but that's a different kind of hit. The scary thing is you have no control, and you don't know where you're going to end up. You just hope you're still on the boat when the ride ends.

Marcus & Lynette, Portland OR - Marshawn Lynch has had a stellar year! Should the Seahawks re-sign Marshawn Lynch when he becomes a free agent this year? Or do you think he will end up becoming another Shawn Alexander?

Capt Keith - Hi Marcus and Lynette, hope the family had a great holiday break.Marshawn should be a priority to resign. His tenacity was never a question, but this season he has matured into a a intelligent complete runner that has now added the weapon of field vision to his arsenal. He's young and hasn't had the workload that Alexander had. He's also working with an O line that is just starting to come together. Having a running game is always going to keep pressure off the QB, and the D honest. His breakout season didn't go unnoticed, and his price tag will be high.

Capt Keith - Tough to choose a favorite but I would say Kenny Easley not only is he one of the greatest Seahawks ever, but one of the best safeties to have played the game. I also appreciate that he's active to this day still raising money for good causes in the Puget Sound.

krjeid, Omaha NE - I met you last June at the College World Series in Omaha, how many sporting events do you go to in your off-time? How hard is it now to enjoy a sporting event with "fans" like me interrupting your sports event to say "Hi, you’re the captain of the Wizard aren't you? I love that show. Could I get a picture with you?"

Capt Keith - Howdy krieid! I do get approached during my daily life, but everyone is so supportive that it's actually cool. Meeting fans in all kinds of places only reinforces how popular the show is.As for sporting events I do my best to see as many as possible. Even though I have missed a lot of amazing games through the years I have also been fortunate to see some great sporting events. 1984 LA Olympics, 1989 World Series, Marino v. Montana in the Superbowl. The Final 4 at the KingDome and last years College World Series to name a few. Memo to rabid fans. If there's a will there's a ticket with your name on it! Just about every major sports event I have been to I have showed up the day of the game, and scalped, begged or borrowed my way in. There's a good chance I'll be in Omaha this year (my son has a baseball tournament there again).It looks like I'll be promoting the crab I caught this year on the Wizard at Kroger stores in Phoenix in the first week of March during the NASCAR race, in Indianapolis during the Indy 500, and also during this years Kentucky Derby. To say I'm excited about all three would be an understatement.

Lieutenant Dan - Keith, how much downtime do you get a year? Do you only fish reds and Opies, or do you summer fish too?

Capt Keith - This or a variation of this question is always one of the most frequently asked. We fish crab exclusively on the Wizard. Red, and Blue Kings, Bairdi, and Opies. The boat leaves in Sept. and usually gets back to Seattle in April. I have fished Cod, Salmon, Herring, and Halibut in the summer. Maintaining a commercial crab boat is a full time year round job, but between April, and July I get to pick my own hours. It gives me time off, but now with Catch and promotions my summer gets filled up with a different type of work. I'm not complaining I meet lots of great people, help in some incredible causes, and travel, but it can be stressful, and demanding. I'll take seeing kids light up, handshakes, and pictures with fans over chipping ice any day. It has it's own sense of reward, but it can't replace the feeling of being out to sea, and catching crab.

Everyone have a great 2012, stay safe, and wear your life jacket when you're out on the water. See ya this spring it's time to go catch some snow crab!

We’d like to send a HUGE thank you to Captain Keith Colburn for taking the time out of an already hectic schedule to answer these questions and interface directly with his fans. We’d also like to thank the folks over at Rezin Marketing, especially April and Peter, for their excellent help in coordinating this for us. You can catch Keith and the rest of the fleet on season 8 of Discovery Channel’s emmy award-winning show “Deadliest Catch”, airing later this year. You can also follow Keith on twitter at @crabwizard.

Excellent read. Capt. Keith has an impressive knowledge of the Seahawks. Very cool! Thanks .NET and Capt. Keith for the great Q&A. I've always enjoyed watching Deadliest Catch, but now I'll have a certain Captain to root for

Thanks everyone for making this event happen. It was an awesome read. My wife and I both watch the show and appreciate this little look into his personal side ,even though we do think the Capt can be a bit of an ass at times.